Thank You
by jailhouserock
Summary: When Alfred is sent to live in England with his step-fathers grandma he literally can't think of anything more boring. That is until he meets his neighbor Arthur who his grandma had told him about before. They don't really have the nicest meeting but in time a friendship between them blooms and soon becomes something...well a little more than that. { image elactobuddy tumblr }
1. Chapter 1

My life...well it was never the greatest I guess most people in my shoes would say. My family was complicated and when you're living in such chaos you tend to try and get away. Here's the deal, my mom had just gotten married after her failed relationship with my dad. After her divorce with my dad I guess my mind just went downhill. I started to do things like sneak out at night, skip class or just completely not go to school at all. I didn't know why I thought this was going to help me go through this. Guess I was just a dumb guy who solved his problems by getting into trouble. I think now you can see that I have now regretted everything that I had done these past couple years. Cause now I'm in the airport waiting for my plane to England to board. No we weren't moving halfway across the world. It was only me, just me. After all the of the stuff that went down my mom and 'dad' have decided to send me off to my 'dads' moms house, in England. The most bland country in the world.

"So you've got everything right sweetie?" My mom asked me for the umpteenth time. "For the 15th time mom yes I have everything, you saw my room there's literally almost nothing in there anymore." I said in an annoyed tone. Not that I was back talking my mom, I was just utterly furious about having to leave my comfortable life in Boston to some boring town that probably doesn't even know what McDonald's is. Of course I'm going to pissed. "Alfred...I know you don't want to go, but we don't need you getting into trouble anymore. I know it's fun to go out and about but when you start doing things to potentially get you arrested it needs to stop." She told me. I kept my mouth shut. She was right, I won't lie to you about that. "I just think spending time in a small place with nice people might cool down these things that you're doing. I promise you won't be in hell your Grandma Julia is very nice." She said rubbing my shoulder. Grandma really? could she stop acting like I was magically related to her now? I mean marriage yes but I knew this family for like 2 years and the only people I know from it are my new step-dad Lawrence and his brother James. I still kept my mouth quiet.  
"Flight 28 will now be boarding." could be heard through the hall. I sighed. This is it, this is where my life ends. Yet before I could move my mom grabbed me and gave me a tight hug. I couldn't resist so I dropped my bag and hugged her back. "Love you.", "I love you too mom."  
Then I was off to England, leaving my family, friends and basically everything I loved to die. I hated this, stupid Lawrence convincing my mom to go along with this in the first place. Ugh, I hated him so much. But I couldn't deal with that right now, I was already too far away to give him a goodbye kick in the shin. So I took my seat on the plane, stuck in my headphones and turned the volume all the way up I'm pretty sure the old lady next to me could hear the lyrics to Trap Queen playing. Whatever, not like the plane ride would be that long right?  
Well I was dead wrong. Cause when you realize this is going to be twelve hours of flying through the air, you start to get even more frustrated and eventually...you're in dreamland.

Whenever I walked off the plane and into the airport the air just seemed way different. Not just the fact that everyone hear was speaking like Mary Poppins but the air literally just felt way cleaner than it did in Boston. Now I have no idea where this new grandma of mine is, so I decided to wander the place with my bags until I saw a old woman doing the same.  
Now this seemed like a good idea until i was walking around the place for 30 minutes and my legs were seriously starting to hurt. "Oh Alfred! Is that you!" I hear a frail voice call from across the room. I whip my head around to see a small old lady coming towards me with a huge grin plastered on her face. I couldn't help but smile back. So what? Old people are cute. "Oh it is you Alfred! I can remember from the pictures Lawrence sent me of you and your mom, my you're just as handsome as you were in the photos." She said and patted my cheeks. She smelled on that typical 'grandma' smell, strong perfume and almost the scent of what a new book would smell like. I just gave her a small nod. "Yeah, i'm guessing you're Julia then?" I said raising an eyebrow. She laughed almost fairy like, very small and high pitched. "Oh dear you can call me Nan." She said and then turned her head back around and motioned me with her head to follow her as she started to walk in the other direction. I grabbed the handles of my suitcases and followed her out of the airport. She kept blabbering on about something but I really didn't pay attention. I really didn't expect England to be so sunny, everything I've ever seen or heard about this place it always seemed so gloomy. Maybe it was just today.

"...right Alfred?" I heard Julia say. I jumped a bit and turned my attention back to her. "I said it's nice out today.". "Oh yeah I guess it is, way sunnier than it is in Boston right now, it's been storming for awhile now." I said. "Must be nice to get out into some nice weather then finally yeah?" She said and unlocked her car. It was small and old, but not like the ugly kind of old. I'd have to guess this was from the 60s at least, maybe even the 50s. She obviously had it re painted because it looked way too nice to have no be re done. I got inside setting my suitcases in the back of the car as she started to old thing up. "I hope you'll like it here Alfred, the people are quite nice. I'm sure you'll be able to make a few good friends during school.". Ah great. I forgot about school. Not only am I in a whole new world basically, but I'm going to a school full of a bunch of stuck up snobs. Would it be bad to jump out of this car now and I hope I'm run over by a truck? "I actually think the neighbors have a son around your age. He should be going to same school you as you maybe you could chat him up as well?" She said. "We'll see, I'm not really the one to jump into friendships so fast." I stared out the window and watched us go from the city, to the middle of nowhere, back to city then back to nowhere. "Well I'm sure you'll make some nice friends, don't worry dear." She said with a reassuring smile. The rest of the ride to her house was silent while she hummed softly to herself and I played on my phone.

Once we got the house I put my phone away and looked out at the place she lived in. It seemed like we drove back in time to the 1800s. The house was small but nice looking. None of the houses in the neighborhood looked like the other. It was nicely wooded with a lot of trees and plants. Not something I that used too living in the heart of the city my entire life. It wasn't too far from the closest city, maybe 6 miles at least. I could walk there I know that, no way I'm driving in the place, they have the cars completely switched around. I literally could not figure this place out. I shook my head away from my thoughts and grabbed my suitcases following her inside the house. Once the door open I got a whiff of what smelled like a bakery. Maybe I will like it here. I walked in all the way and shut the door behind me. I let my eyes wander around the living room seeing the navy blue colored couches that sat on the hardwood floor. The walls were filled with pictures and candle holders that sat candles that probably haven't been lit in years. The kitchen was right through the walkway by the tv and I could tell that had to be Julia's heaven. "Come now, I'll show you to your room." She said and walked down the hallway. I snapped back to reality and pulled my bags with me down the hall and to the room she had opened the door to. There sat a full sized bed black and white bedding, a tv, dresser, desk and a lamp that sat on the dresser. Boring, but I can make it work. "Thanks Jul- um Nan." I said. She laughed softly and walked towards the doorway. "You must be tired from the flight and the drive here, why don't you get settled in and maybe take a nap. I'll call you out when supper in made alright?" She said. I nodded at her in acknowledgement. She turned and walked out closing the door behind her. I let out a huge sigh and plopped straight onto the bed.

I was bored. This was boring. This whole country is boring. Do they do anything fun here? Or does everyone just act all giddy all the time even though their lives are slowly fading. I felt like this place was purely for old people like Julia. I mean how do kids or teenagers survive in such a place? Don't they have amusement parks or stuff like that? This was all just so sudden. I guess I can't help myself for thinking about all this. Maybe I was stereotyping but when you live somewhere for so long I guess those are the only views you have on a country. I sat up on the bed and looked around again. Maybe I should unpack. I unzipped my first suitcase and started pulling out the clothes I had brought with me and stuffing them into the dresser that was in the room already. Shirts, Shorts, Pants, etc. I only brought 3 pairs of shoes so hopefully I'm not expected to dress formally anytime soon since the ones I do have are combat boots, old converse and some vans. I set those right next to the dresser and moved onto the next suitcase that held my laptop, phone charger, ps vita and ds that were all covered with my favorite blanket. Ok well my blanket I've had since I was 6 that I'm kind of attached too and don't have the heart to throw away. Can a guy be sentimental? I got everything out of there and set them where I wanted them to be and laid back down on the bed. Maybe I should take a nap, I mean its Sunday tomorrow so that gives me a day to get my sleeping back into shape. I took off my glasses and grabbed my blanket, closing my eyes while i lay my head onto the pillow. I was out like a light.

* * *

So there's the first chapter, I know I know ITS REALLY LONG AND ALFRED AND ARTHUR HAVEN'T EVEN MET YET WTF.

They'll be meeting in chapter 2 I promise.

I hope you guys enjoy this story since i've finally gotten the motivation to start writing this after so long.

xoxo - bim


	2. Chapter 2

"...Alfred..." I heard the princess calling my name. "Don't- mm Don't worry princess I'm com...ing." I mumbled to myself. "Alfred!" I shot up quickly and banged my head against the wall cursing to myself. "Oops, haha sorry dear, supper is ready if you'd like to come and eat." Julia told me. "Uh, yeah I'll be there in a little it." I replied. "You can always sleep more if you want." She said. "No it's fine, just give me a few minutes to wake up." I reassured her. She nodded and walked out of the room closing the door behind her. I sat up and let my legs hang off of the mattress. What time was it anyway? I picked up my phone and checked the time. 8:32pm. I guess I really wasn't asleep for that long. I sighed to myself and got my glasses off of the desk putting them on so I could actually see. After getting my vision back I got up from the bed and tousled my hair while walking out of the room and to the kitchen. Once I got down the hallway I started to smell something heavenly. This might actually be the one good thing about coming here. "There he is!" She exclaimed happily as she set the table with all the food she made. I honestly couldn't tell what anything was besides the potatoes but it all looked really really good.

"So how was your nap?" Julia asked me as we both took a seat at the table. "It was fine, not as long as I thought it was." I said monotonously and began to eat the food one my plate. The food was really good, but I was still bummed out that I could be hanging out with my friends right now or making out with the captain of the volleyball team, Katelyn Mirmack. "Well you can go straight back to bed once we eat, I know I'm going right to bed." She added. I nodded and we ate for the rest of the time in silence. It was really odd, usually me and mom would talk to entire time during dinner. I guess old people don't like conversing while eating. Oh well. I shoved my face with food until my stomach felt like it was going to explode and rinsed of my dishes in the sink. Julia did the same and was about to head down the other hall to her room but turned around before she did. "Help yourself to anything alright? Don't feel like you have to ask to eat or drink anything you're welcome to anything in there." She told me. I nodded "Got it, thanks." I responded and then she went on back to her room. I stood there for a bit, not moving. I really wasn't that tired anymore really. I guess getting up and moving just made me wake up. I sighed and leaned against the wall. It's not like there was really anything to do but sit in my room until school started, which I was still dreading. Plus we had to wear specific clothes. Every day. Talk about boring, I thought teenagers were supposed to express themselves. Oh no no no, England says we have to wear uniforms so I'm stuck with a white button up, red and gold tie and black pants. At least we didn't have to wear nice shoes cause no way am I spending my money of shoes that I'll throw out in 2 years. God this sucks. I do appreciate Julia trying to make me feel welcome but it's kind of hard when most people here already hate Americans. I just felt really out of place in the country.

I walked back to my room and shut the door, letting my feet drag back over to my bed. I sat down and let out a huge sigh. I hate Lawrence, I hate this country and I hate myself for letting this happen because I'm a dumb teenager who does dumb stuff. I guess my definition of fun isn't necessarily legal though. Maybe I should take up a hobby less likely to get me in trouble. Like baseball...or knitting. What am thinking? Whatever, I just want to find something to do for the night. I looked out of the window and saw how dark it was outside. "hm...maybe." I muttered to myself. I lifted myself off the bed and grabbed a jacket and pulled on my converse, tying the laces as quickly as I could. I pulled the jacket over me and zipped it up halfway and put the hood up and over my head. Julia's asleep, it's not like she'll find out right? I walked out of my room and down the hall. I went to the front door and opened very slowly trying not to be so loud and quickly walked out shutting the door very slowly again. Success. I let out the breath I had been holding in and walked off of the lawn onto the road. It was a nice night too, the moon was bright and the air was cool. I turned my head to the side and looked at the woods that was behind all of the house on the left side of the street. A stroll through the woods might be nice, why not? I quickly crossed the street looked around to make sure no one was around. Was crossing through peoples yards frowned upon here too? I ran into a random yard and set my foot on the bottom of the fence and my hand on the top of it. I climbed it as quickly as I could and jumped down. That's when I regretted my decision that night.

I heard the back door slam open and a voice call out. "Hello?". I put my body to the side of the house quickly hoping nobody would see me. Was I really that loud when I climbed the fence? "Hello?" The voice called out again and I chewed my lower lip nervously hoping they wouldn't come looking around the yard. I squeezed my eyes shut just waiting and waiting. Soon I heard the door close again. I let a huge sigh in relief and waiting a few seconds before continuing on through the yard. That's when I regretted my decision again. Just as I was about to climb the fence again, there was a light glowing in my general direction. I'm utterly fucked. "Told you I heard someone dad." The voice from earlier said. "Hey you, put down the hood and turn around." Another voice said which I'm guessing was that guys dad. Yeah I'm seriously fucked. I took my hood off and turned around slowly and saw two guys standing there, one who looks around my age with blonde hair and some big eyebrows who leaned against the side of the house. The other an older man with the same eyebrows but grayish hair. "What are you doing out this late and why are you trespassing through my yard?" He demanded. I was at a loss for words. My hands fidgeted and my face was flushed now. "Well?" He persisted. "Ok- um, I was just uh trying to get to the woods, I- I swear I wasn't doing anything else." I tried explaining to him. He scoffed and handed the flashlight in his hand over to the other guy.

"Arthur stay here while I go make a phone call." The man told him. "I will." He said and pointed the flashlight at me while his dad went back inside of the house. I looked down at my shoes and cursed to myself. I'm in serious trouble now, I literally just got here and I'm already causing shit, I don't think mom can find anywhere for me to go without me fucking up somehow. I heard footsteps wander over to me and I looked up seeing the guy a few feet away from me. "You're not from here obviously, but don't they have trespassing laws in America too?" He asked me rhetorically. I rolled my eyes and shoved my hands into my pockets. "Listen, is he going to call the cops on me? I seriously cannot be getting into trouble now you have no idea." I asked/told him. "He's not going to call the cops, he's calling Mrs. Smith.". "Mrs. Smith?" I asked. Why the hell was he calling some random lady? "Say what made you think it was a bright idea to go into the woods anyway, you do realize there's wild animals in there right? Maybe take a walk in the daytime?" He said completely ignoring my question. "Whatever." I muttered.  
"Alfred Jones!" I heard a familiar voice yell out. Mrs. Smith. oh fuck. Lawrence Smith, Julia Smith. Fuck my entire existence right now please. I groaned out and kicked the ground letting dirt fly up from the ground. "Hey you mess up our yard you fix our yard." This Arthur guy told me in an annoyed tone. I rolled my again and soon Julia came through the opening of the gate on the other side of the house. "Alfred Frederick Jones, What on gods green earth are you doing at this time of night, I leave you for one hour and you're already getting yourself into trouble. Now you're parents trusted me to keep you out of trouble so swear on the queen herself if you pull another stunt like this im going to-" She blabbered on until she saw Arthur standing there. I was wide eyed, god she really was nice but when she was mad I'll admit I felt a bit intimidated. "Oh Arthur boy, I'm so sorry you had to see this all, why don't you go bad to bed and I'll take Alfred here back home." She told Arthur. He simply nodded and smiled at her. "Yes Ma'am, I'm so very sorry my father had to call you at an hour like this, I sure hope you can get him disciplined." He told Julia then turned the flashlight off and strutted into the house. I glared at his back. What a prick.

"OW OW OW OW OW OW!" I screeched out as I was being pulled by the ear back to the house. When she finally released I held my hand up to my ear and scrunched my face up in pain. "That was so unnecessary!", "So were you're little antics tonight! Alfred you need to understand you were sent here for a reason not to just get away from your parents cause lord no I will not stand for this kind of get up ever again. Listen to me young man you may be young and wild but that gives you no reason to go out and do whatever the hell you want cause that just isn't how life works. You are 16 years old you will focus on education and getting your life together, may the day you graduate high school be the day you can finally go out and do whatever you want, but now you are living under my roof and you will act with respect and listen to the rules of the house." She blurted out in a very angry voice. I looked down at my shoes again not wanting to look up at her since I knew she was already disappointed in me. "Do you understand?" She asked me. I just nodded and bit on my lip just wishing she would go away already. "I know we've only just met but Alfred I want you to get your life back on track, get through school, find a job, get a girlfriend you know what I mean?" She added. "I get...can I just go back to my room now?" I asked. She let out a sigh and nodded her head. "Yes, you may." She finished. I then picked my feet up and dragged my feet back to my room and closed the door.

This has got to be the worst day I've ever had in my entire life. First I'm stuck on a plane to live with some old lady I don't even know, I'm going to some school that had the stupidest dress code ever, I almost get arrested for trespassing because I wanted to take a walk through the woods to clear my mind of everything, then my so called grandma drags me back home by the ear and scolds me when we get back inside the house. I don't fucking understand my mind either really. I don't know why I think sneaking out won't get me in trouble. I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. I shoved my face into the pillow on my bed not even bothering to take off my shoes or jacket. I hate this. I'd rather be in jail right now in Boston than here. Everyone hates me already. I can already tell my neighbor Arthur that my grandma acts is like this high and mighty guy is actually some snob douche that probably gets off on people getting in trouble because he's Mr perfect and never does anything wrong. I thought she said people here were nice. Turns out everyone just acts that way. hmph just like I thought anyway. Why couldn't mom just let me go live with dad if I'm that much of a trouble to her anyway? He's got a house and a stable job just like Julia. Oh right, she hates him. I wish she could see I hated this place as much as she hated him.  
God I could really use a drink right now.

* * *

ok not much arthur and alfred interaction i know

but there will be MUCH MORE in chapter 3 since they will be going to school in that one

I'm really glad with how many readers i have already since i just published this like a day ago and i hope you all keep reading

xoxo - bim


	3. Chapter 3

AN/  
this chapter is a time skip to the day where Alfred starts school, I hope you enjoy since this took me a really long time to get inspiration to write, basically a whole month of writes block. Here it goes though.

"Fuck!" I shouted as I looked at the time on my phone. "Language Alfred!" Julia yelled at me from the kitchen where she was probably eating breakfast. I quickly got up from my bed and grabbed my clothes. I changed as quickly as I could, messing up the buttons on my shirt about 4 times before I finally got it right. I wrapped the tie around my collar and fast as I could and tied it just like Julia taught me yesterday. A little crooked maybe but that didn't matter now. If I was late to school on the first day I'm surely getting a good lecture tonight. I grabbed my phone and bag running out of my room while grabbing a muffin quickly from off the kitchen table almost tripping over my untied laces in the process. "Slow down boy." Julia tells me right before I sprint out of the front door. "See you later!" I call out to her as I travel through the front lawn and onto the sidewalk. I look at my phone again to check the time. 6: 52am. That gives me 8 minutes to get to my school, which is a mile away. I guess I better start running now, good thing I was an a+ student in gym class.

This was...normal? People were talking in the hallway. Picking on others, getting things out of their lockers and kissing their signifigant others. The only thing different was the uniform. It was all off from what I was imagining it to be like. Was I really overexaggerating this? Maybe it was only like that at private schools just like it would've been in America too? They all just seemed so normal. Just like back home. Yet, it wasn't home. Oh god how I could go for some of Mr. Jamisons food right now.  
People were staring at me now. Could they stop looking at me like I'm some animal? Oh right, new student. Got it now. RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH. My eyebrows scrunched together at the sound of the bell and everyone hurried to class. What room was I again? I quickly reached my phone and looked through the gallery to find the picture I took of my schedule. R-17. I put my phone away and jogged to the crowd of people piling into their classes. It was a little weird now that I thought about it again. We all were stuck inside one classroom for the day. I gladly walked into the room not even a second before the bell rang. I sighed in relief of actually making it to school today. Now let's just hope I make it through the actual day. The teacher walked into the room finally with a smile as he set down his suitcase. "Good morning class, I hope you have had a great week so far?" He asked rhetorically as he took a seat in the chair behind the desk. His eyes looked around until they landed straight on me. "Well if it isn't our new student. Alfred why don't you come on up and introduce yourself to the class?" He said so sweetly it literally made me was to curl up into a ball and puke everywhere. He was one of those teachers. I guess I can't get out of this though, so I got up from my seat and slowly made my way to the front of the classroom while everyone watched me. Once I stood in front of everyone I looked out at everyone. Some of the girls weren't bad looking either.  
"Well?" The teacher said as he gave me a look of 'get on with it'. I cleared my throat before speaking. "Well, uh My name is Alfred Jones, 17 years old..." I heard people chattering softly about me. A lot of which commented on my American accent. "...I'm from Boston also and uh i'm living with my grandma for the time being." I looked around more and that's when I saw him. "You have got to be kidding me..." I muttered under my breath. "What was that Jones?" The teacher said. Man I still didn't know my teachers name. I'll just wait until someone else addresses him I guess. "Nothing sir." I said and quickly took my seat again and class began.

I couldn't help glance to the back of the class where he was. He barely even paid attention, his face was shoved inside a book during the entire lesson. Cross that out, his face was shoved in his book for half of the day. I've never seen someone read so much. Was he in some kind of trance? Was someone doing witchcraft on him? Oh no what if he messed with a Ouija board and he's currently possessed by a demon? Wait what? I just mentally face palmed myself as the bell rang again, signaling it was time for lunch. I grabbed my bag and followed the rest of the crowd out of the classroom and to the cafeteria or 'dining hall' as they called it. Seriously, what was it with the British? I guess that was something every American said when they came here, but really they had the weirdest words for things. I shook my head from all these stupid thoughts going through my mind and grabbed a tray to get my food. After looking at the food and finding out it was just as bad as it was back home, I decided to take a lunch for now on and took a seat at a table to just relax for the time being. I laid my chin on my hand as looked around the room at everyone. They talked, and laughed and looked happy. Well I felt miserable here. It was like I was in some indie movie about my life, if only some echosmith were to play softly in the background.

"You certainly look exhausted, did you do more fence climbing?" I heard a familiar voice say. I looked slightly to the left and saw Arthur sitting there. His uniform dapper like he was some kind of royalty or something like calm down your father is a police officer not the king. I rolled my eyes and pushed my tray out of the way so I didn't have to look at it anymore. "Did you stop getting into peoples business?" I mocked back at him. Yet all he did was chuckle. Which made my face heat up and caused my fists to clench and unclench. Oh how this guy needed a real kick in the face. Well at least that's what I wanted to do to him. "You alright? You look like you're about to blow a fuse?" He said before taking a bite into his sandwich. "I'm perfectly fine, so how about you just shut up already? And why are you sitting here in the first place? Shouldn't you be on hells throne?" I said and chewed on the inside of my cheek. God I've barely known the guy and just talking to him make me want to punch a hole in the wall. "Good insults, I'll give you that. Just how are you ever gonna get by in life by acting like that though? You came here to be better than that right? At least that's what I assume, you don't seem like you'd just be here because you can be." He said, not even lifting his head once from his food. "Why do you need to know?" I asked. "Well I don't, just curious. I mean why not get to know my new neighbour? I mean you've already been to my house so why not?" And that when I stood up from the table and fumed down at him. "Can you let it go? Its done and over with already, you have no idea what I'm going through so you can just leave me alone. I don't want to be your friend, I don't want to talk to you, I don't even want to see you but I know that's impossible cause you seem like the kind of guy to pry until he gets whats he want am I right?" My eyes were sharp on his figure. He gaped at me as the the entire room got quiet. My eyes stayed on his for what seemed like hours. Seconds maybe actually, that is until his face turned a shade of red I'd never seen before and his head turned to look at everyone that looked at us. I wasn't phased at all. Arthur though, he seemed _extremely_ bothered by the looks that they gave us. In seconds, his things were gone and so was he. Soon everyone went back to talking and I took my seat again.  
First day of school. They say it's a dreadful day. God, isn't that just the damn truth.  
_

Finally more Alfred and Arthur interaction. Just like in the AN I am very sorry this took forever to come but i'm hopeful you all enjoy this chapter. I tried to give some hints to some later topics in the story btw, maybe you'll catch on.

xoxo - bim


	4. Chapter 4

AN/  
oh lord I feel so bad for not updating in so long, but school has come up and I've been super busy lately. I'm also starting another story shortly as well so I'll probably alternate with updating those but I promise to get this story finished and not leave anyone hanging. Thanks to everyone reading and following my story as well I really appreciate the support since this is the first full fanfiction I've ever written and it gives me motivation in knowing I'm at least doing a decent job at it. Anyway, here's the long awaited chapter 4, I hope you enjoy.

School was weird here. Not much different from back in Boston but just weird. I guess it could also be the fact that only about 200 people went to the school since it was such a small town that we lived in there were only so many kids and teenagers here. I shouldn't ave expected anything else to be honest. So yeah, it was just weird.

It was the last hour of the day before school let out and I was eager to get home and probably procrastinate doing my homework to play on my games on my phone instead or watch YouTube. Just the same as it was back home with my mom, except she would take me phone away until I finished at least half of my homework. She really was a good mom, I'm just a troubled kid. Funny that I know that already right? I wasn't stupid, I knew what I did wasn't okay but it was almost like I wasn't able to control what I did. I would act before thinking of the consequences and by the time that I did think, it was already to late to back down. I've tried my share of alcohol and drugs before and I'm not proud but I'm sure as hell grateful I never became addicted to anything. Probably the only thing I am proud about myself to be honest.

"...and that marks the beginning of World War Two." The teacher finished before handing out papers to us. My mind snapped back to reality at those words and luckily before the girl in front of me passed the papers into my hands. World War Two huh? This was something I could probably get into. History was probably one of the only classes I had passed with a B or higher my entire life. Maybe it was because my family had a long history of military men. I silently laughed to myself and shook my head as I wrote my name at the top of the paper and shoved the paper into my bag right before the bell rang. Lawrence probably would've put me into military school if my mom didn't suggest dropping me off here, and not that the military was a bad thing but it was my last choice on my list of potential careers I had running through my head. Basically it was a 'If worse comes to worse' option. As the bell rang throughout the building I slung my bag over my shoulder and stood from my seat. People pushed past me and I held myself back from pushing them back.

As I made my way to the front doors of the school I spotted Arthur by a small group of others and I raised an eyebrow wondering why he wasn't heading home like everyone else. I shrugged to myself and walked off of the campus and back home much slower and taking my time since I wasn't in a rush. Probably his chess club or something. Also who even plays chess anymore? My grandpa tried to teach it to me once when I was like years old and I'm pretty sure I literally fell asleep. Loved him though, a good soul he was.

Once I got home, I kicked my shoes off and set my bag down on the small table in the kitchen looking for something to eat. The car was out so I figured Julia was probably out shopping. Once settling on a pb&j sandwich I headed back to my room and opened my laptop to watch Cryaotic play Beyond Two Souls. Although 2 minutes later a knock came form my door and Julia opened it right after. "Nice to see you made it home alright dear, I brought you some things for school by the way just in case you needed them." She said and set them down on the dresser before looking at the sandwich in my hand. "What is that? Looks awfully odd." She said pointing at my pb&j. "This? A peanut butter and jelly sandwich, what's odd about that?" I half told and asked. She shrugged a little and shook her head before speaking up again, "I've never seen anyone eat something like that before." That's when I knew I had had enough already.

"So basically, no one even knows who created the sandwich but it is really popular in America." I told her as I finished spreading the jelly and putting the piece of bread on top of the other and hand it over to Julia. She hesitated before moving the food up to her mouth and taking a bite out of it. I smiled a little at her as she didn't flinch or gag on it. She swallowed it and smiled a little at me before giggling. "This is absolutely amazing, how come you Americans have so many good things we don't know about? Kids should be eating these instead of those sugary snacks." She said before taking another bite of it. I laughed and ate the other one I had made. "Well I'm glad you like them, maybe we can make them a new trend in town." I said sarcastically. We both laughed and finished eating before she began to ask me about my day.  
"So how was your first day?" She asked and began to clean up around the kitchen as I leaned back on the counter. I looked down at my shoes and shrugged. "It was alright." I said so she wouldn't worry about me. "Did you see Arthur there?" She asked me and I went a little stiff. I just made a 'mhm' and said nothing after that. She looked at me, raising her eyebrow before sighing and dropping the rag in her hand. "Come on, spit it out. Did something happen?" She pried at me. My shoulders dropped and I groaned a little. "Excuse my language Nan, I know you like Arthur but he is a real asshole." I said which caused Julia to gasp and lightly pinch the underside of my arm. "Ow! Hey at least I excused myself first!" I cried out. She only shook her head at me. "That still does not give you the right to use that kind of language around me." She said and went back to wiping the counters.

I frowned a little and picked up my bag deciding I should probably get started on some of that homework. Even I was a little surprised at myself for doing it but I might as well instead of being forced into tutoring like I had been back home. After about an hour though, I wanted to pull my hair out. Who the hell knows how to do this stuff? Especially a teenager? This is something only Einstein could figure out. I let an aggravated groan and tossed my pencil across the room.

"Are you okay Alfred?" I heard Julia say from my door which I hadn't even noticed she had opened. I sighed and nodded. "Yes, just homework problems, It's fine." I said trying to get her to leave so I could sulk in my inability to do my own homework. She never left though, in fact she walked in further and picked up my notebook, looking at the problems and tilting her head to side a little. "Oh dear, I'm sure if you weren't mad at a certain neighbour he'd be glad to help you with your homework." She said trying to persuade me into asking Arthur. Which I had literally just called an asshole in front of her which ended in a bruised arm. Damn was this old lady strong. "No, no way. He's a complete jerk. Plus his dad might think I'm going to rob their house or something." I said and took the notebook from her hands. She just sighed at me and shook her head. "Alfred you're never going to get anywhere with them if you never apologize anyway. So I'll make a deal with you..."She said.  
"You get help with math and apologize to Arthur and his family for causing such a ruckus for them the other day, then we can go into the city for a little shopping spree." She told me. A bribe? Really? Oh but how hard it was for me to resist. I shook my head again. "No way, still not happening." I said staying flat on my decision. After a few moments of silence she spoke up again and I almost ran for the living room to get my shoes.

"I'll take you to the pub as well."


	5. Chapter 5

It was a little cold out, I really should've brought my jacket with me. Of course though, I was eager to get this done and over with so Julia could stick to her promise of taking me out this weekend. I had my bag in my hand and was walking across the street over to Arthur's house. I took a few breathes before walking onto the driveway and up to the front door. "You've got this Alfred, just do it quickly." He pep talked to himself. He raised his fist and hesitantly knocked on the door.

After a few seconds he heard footsteps running to the door and Alfred raised an eyebrow as a little boy opened the door. He looked around the age of 8 or 9 and looked almost exactly like Arthur but his eyes were blue instead of green. "Dad!" The little boy yelled out and soon enough Arthur dad was at the door with a stern look on his face.

"Ah, Mister Jones, what brings you here today?" He asked with a sarcastic tone to his voice. I sighed softly and averted my eyes away from him as I felt a little uncomfortable with him glaring at me. "Well I...I just wanted to come over and apologize for what happened the other day. I feel really bad about waking you and your family up at such a late time and I just wanted to tell you that." I told him. He stayed silent for a few seconds and just looked me over. I shifted my feet around and bit the inside of my cheek waiting for him to say something but it felt as if we had been standing there for 5 years now.

"...Alright, I suppose I accept your apology, you're just lucky we're good friends with your Nan or you'd be paying a fine for trespassing." He huffed and backed away a little. "I'll let you go then." He said and was about to close the door before I shoved my foot through to stop him. "Wait! I uh, I also needed to speak to Arthur about something...if that's alright." I said. He only raised his eyebrow at me and with a sigh, turned his head towards the stairs right across from the door. "Arthur! Someones at the door for you!" He called out and eventually Arthur was making his way down the stairs. He was also still in his uniform like me, but he probably just got home too considering he also still had his shoes on as well.

Right as he got to the door and saw me there he scrunched up his face and huffed. "What do you want?" He asked in a rather aggravated voice. I rolled me eyes and leaned against the door frame before speaking. "Listen, I know we got off to a bad start, but we shouldn't hold onto our grudge okay? I was an asshole to you today and I'm sorry." I said to him. His face was contorted as he looked at me as if he was looking at something foul. hmph, Julia you really think this guy is nice? He gave a small scoff and shook his head, drawing my attention back to him. "You want something don't you?" He asked me with a smug smile on his face.  
Bastard, he was. I sighed and nodded, "More like I need something." Arthur ruffled his hair a bit before speaking up again, "Well then, what do you need?"

"Well, you see, I'm kind of in a tough situation right now. Which means I can absolutely in no way be failing in any classes at the moment. My Nan said you could probably help me. You any good at Math?" I asked him.  
He stared at me briefly before nodding and crossing his arms. "I'm good at math yeah, so you want me to tutor you I suppose?" He said basically taking the words right out of my mouth. I shook my head yes and took out my notebook from my bag. "Yeah, and since we literally live right across from each other it shouldn't be much of a deal right?" I said.

He seemed to be in a deep thought, his eyes moving around the notebook which had my messy handwriting all over it and a failed attempt at some division problem on it. His finger eventually pointed to a part on the paper and I pushed my glasses up to see it better. "That right there, you can switch the numbers around to make the problem easier. It takes out a whole step." He said.  
I blinked and then moved my eyes back to him. I'm guessing that was a yes to being my tutor.

AH THIS IS A SHORT CHAPTER IM SORRY.  
THE NEXT ONE WILL BE LONGER I PROMISE.  
xoxo - bim


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